Abstract

The economic value of image rights of athletes has increased tremendously over the past decades. License fees and royalties are a valuable source of income for many sports personalities and clubs in Europe. Despite the immense value of image rights and an increasing number of international and cross-border transactions, there is currently only piecemeal regulation across the European Union. While there were occasional calls for a more harmonised approach across Member States to facilitate business worldwide, there has been no real attempt at harmonisation as of yet. After the UK voted to leave the EU on 23 June 2016 (Brexit), the legal situation has become even more uncertain. This article highlights the recent trends and challenges of image rights protection in Europe, including the implications of Brexit on the protection of athletes against false endorsement. It is argued that the similarities between the treatments of image rights (recognising both economic and dignitary interests) may outweigh the existing traditional differences (the nature and justification for image rights) in the long term. It may be assumed that the law will tentatively recognise both economic and moral elements, helping to promote a more workable and enforceable harmonised international standard in this area.

Item Type:

Book Section

Additional Information:

This is a draft chapter that has been accepted for publication by Edward Elgar Publishing in the forthcoming book Research Handbook on EU Sports Law due to be published in 2017.